It’s important to not think about estate planning as something you do for yourself (or something that can be overlooked). One of the best ways you can show appreciation for your loved ones is to mak...
Estate Planning for Parents with College-Bound Kids
Sending the kids off to college may leave parents with an empty nest. But they have more to think about than whether to turn Junior’s bedroom into a home gym. Parents with college-bound kids also ha...
When to Use a Credit Shelter Trust
Most people want to limit the amount of tax they pay. Whether it’s income tax, estate tax, or capital gains, we’re all looking for legal ways to protect our hard-earned dollars from the tax man. S...
What is a GRAT?
It sounds like a character from the movie Guardians of the Galaxy, but it’s not. No, GRAT stands for Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT). For some, this type of trust can make a big difference in ...
3 Little Known Benefits of Trusts
Chances are, you’ve heard of trusts. You may know that trusts are used for estate planning but have a very vague idea of how they actually work. In fact, even people who have formed a trust may not ...
Asset Protection Best Practices: How to Save Your Stuff
After spending so much time and effort accumulating your ‘stuff,’ doesn’t it make sense to protect it the best you can. Using asset protection best practices, you may be able to help yourself an...
Estate Planning for the Blended Family
Families are becoming more complex. Sometimes a newly-married couple each have children from previous marriages, and plan to have more. Other couples marry later in life when both have adult children....
Estate Planning at Any Age
Estate planning is not just for the over-60 crowd. In fact, estate planning documents affects people of every age. Looking at every stage of life, it’s easy to see how documents like Wills or trusts...
Writing Your Ethical Estate Plan: It’s More Than Family History and Grandma’s Apple Pie Recipe
Families may be large or small, but they all have one thing in common: memories. How often have we heard family legends from older relatives or shared our own stories with younger generations? When pu...
Will-Based or Trust-Based – Which Type of Estate Plan Should I Choose?
There are two basic kinds of estate planning: will-based and trust-based. So, it should be easy to choose, right? It seems simple. Wills are the foundation of will-based plans and trusts are the...